ALBANY — A Democratic challenger to Gov. Andrew Cuomo will remain on the ballot for the Sept. 9 primary, according to a ruling Wednesday by a state appeals court.

The state Appellate Division rejected an appeal by an attorney for the Cuomo campaign, which challenged whether Fordham Law School Professor Zephyr Teachout meets the minimum residency requirement to run for governor.

In its two-page ruling Tuesday, a four-judge panel unanimously ruled in favor of Teachout, who has maintained she has kept her residence in New York since she was hired at the Manhattan law school in mid-2009. She is originally from Vermont and regularly traveled back there.

"Although Zephyr R. Teachout has resided in several different residences within the City of New York since 2009, while maintaining close connections to her childhood domicile of Vermont, that is nothing more than an ambiguity in the residency calculus," the judges wrote.

The state Constitution requires candidates for governor to have been a New York resident for the five years leading up to the election.

The ruling clears the way for Teachout to remain on the primary ballot, along with Cuomo and comedian and activist Randy Credico. The winner will face Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino, Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins and other third-party candidates.

"Today's unanimous decision by the appellate court comes as no surprise. With this frivolous lawsuit behind us, I'm hopeful the governor will now agree to debate," Teachout said in a statement. "We have very different visions for where we want to take the state."

Cuomo's campaign said it's done with the court fight and will not ask the state Court of Appeals—New York's highest court—to hear the case. Since the mid-level appeals court was unanimous, the high court didn't have to agree to hear the case.

As the frontrunner, the Democratic governor hasn't indicated whether he will debate Teachout in advance of the Sept. 9 primary. A Cuomo campaign spokesman declined comment.

Astorino said Wednesday he'll debate Teachout if Cuomo won't.

"New York is suffering under the highest taxes in the nation, the worst economic outlook and has the most corrupt state government," Astorino charged in a video message. "These are very serious issues that need to be discussed and debated. Voters need to hear proposed solutions."

Teachout campaign manager Mike Boland said she would be happy to debate Astorino, but it's Cuomo who should debate her.

"Our position is that there should be debates. The governor should debate, but he's doesn't seem willing. We would be happy to debate Mr Astorino," Boland said.

In 2002, when Cuomo ran in a Democratic primary for governor against party pick, then-Comptroller Carl McCall, he highlighted the need for public debates. He lost the primary after pulling out of the race just days before the vote.

"This is what campaigns should be all about: a good, honest discussion on the issues," Cuomo said in the first debate with McCall.

The Quinnipiac poll showed Cuomo cruising to re-election, despite persistent questions about his role in breaking up a corruption-busting panel.

The poll found 83 percent of voters viewed government corruption New York as a problem, and by a 48 percent to 41 percent margin said Cuomo was part of the problem.

Cuomo topped Astorino 56 percent to 28 percent, the poll found. Cuomo's lead was unchanged since a May 21 poll by Quinnipiac.

"Is the governor's race all over? Did it ever start?" Quinnipiac pollster Mickey Carroll said in a statement. "Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino gets only the standard Republican numbers. Voters give Gov. Cuomo a big lead and say he deserves reelection."

Q Poll's Carroll discusses latest poll

Cuomo has been criticized for his office's alleged role in trying to steer the Moreland Commission the governor created away from his allies. Cuomo disbanded the panel amid its work in March, and now U.S Attorney Preet Bharara is investigating the situation.

But polls have shown little change in Cuomo's popularity and lead over Astorino. Voters approved 57 percent to 38 percent of the job Cuomo was doing, and by a 56 percent to 36 percent margin said he deserved re-election—also little changed since May, Quinnipiac said.

Astorino's problem continued to be a lack of name recognition: 51 percent of voters didn't know enough about him to form an opinion, Quinnipiac said.

Teachout was even less known: 88 percent said they didn't know about her.

In the other statewide races, the Democratic incumbents held sizable leads, the poll said.